NPR News: 12-17-2025 7PM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
What are the implications of Republicans breaking with leadership on Affordable Care Act subsidies?
Four Republicans have broken with their leadership and signed on to a Democratic-led petition forcing a House vote to extend subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans. The move comes as monthly premiums for the plans are set to soar after the subsidies expire at the end of the month. As NPR's Selina Simmons-Duffin explains, many people with the Obamacare plans are in Republican-led states, but Republicans largely don't want to shore up the system.
Partly Republicans don't like the Affordable Care Act, and they don't want to vote to shore it up. They say the enhanced subsidies are just papering over the high cost of health insurance.
Who is Jared Isaacman and why is he significant for NASA?
Also, they say that it's a really small portion of the population that relies on these plans, only about 7% of Americans. Most people get their insurance through their jobs or through Medicaid or Medicare. So Republicans seem to be making the calculation that even if some of their voters are on the hook for these higher premiums, it might not be enough to hurt the party politically.
NPR's Selina Simmons-Duffin reporting, wealthy private astronaut Jared Isaacman has been confirmed by the Senate to be the new head of NASA. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports that he's taking charge of the agency at a critical time.
Jared Isaacman is a businessman who flew to space twice in SpaceX capsules. On one of those flights, he and a crewmate opened up a hatch and performed the first private spacewalk.
What unconventional descriptions are found on the new White House plaques?
President Trump nominated him to lead NASA, but then abruptly withdrew that nomination in the spring, only to re-nominate him in November. Isaacman is becoming administrator as NASA prepares to send astronauts on a trip around the moon next year. making it the first time people have gone there in more than a half century. The hardware needed for landing on the moon, however, is still in development, and Isaacman has said that it's vital for a U.S. landing to happen before a rival, China, gets astronauts to the lunar surface.
How is a suspected cyber attack impacting international ferry services?
Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News.
There are new plaques at the White House hanging underneath the portraits of past American presidents that President Trump had installed earlier this year, NPR's Tamara Keith reports the descriptions are unconventional.
The plaques mounted along the presidential walk of fame are packed with insults, including lines like, quote, Sleepy Joe Biden was by far the worst president in American history. And, quote, in 2016, President Clinton's wife Hillary lost the presidency to Donald J. Trump. And the bio for former President Reagan asserts that he was a fan of President Trump long before his historic run for the White House. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt says, The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each president and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by President Trump himself.
What trends are emerging in faith-based films in Hollywood?
End quote. Tamara Keith, NPR News.
U.S. stocks dropped today. This is NPR News from Washington. French authorities are investigating a suspected cyber attack targeting an international passenger ferry The tool could have allowed remote control of the ferry's computers. A Latvian crew member is in custody facing charges of acting for a foreign power. Officials hinted that Russia might be involved, noting, quote, foreign interference often comes from the same country. American Theatre Magazine has released a list of the 50 most influential plays and musicals performed in the U.S. so far this century. The results are based on responses from more than 350 theatre workers, leaders and observers nationwide, NPR's Chloe Veltman reports.
At the top of the list, no surprise, is Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop-infused take on the Founding Fathers from 2015 earned many awards, including a Pulitzer and 11 Tonys.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:22
2
What are the implications of Republicans breaking with leadership on Affordable Care Act subsidies?
0:22–0:55
3
Who is Jared Isaacman and why is he significant for NASA?
0:55–1:40
4
What unconventional descriptions are found on the new White House plaques?
1:40–2:14
5
How is a suspected cyber attack impacting international ferry services?
2:14–3:10
6
What trends are emerging in faith-based films in Hollywood?
3:10–4:57